1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electronic communications. Specifically, the present invention relates to a system and method for monitoring server performance using a server.
2. The Prior State of the Art
Computer networks are playing an increasingly important role in the information age. One important component of a computer network is a server system. A “server system” is a hardware and/or software component that provides services to another component of the computer network typically termed a “client system.” The client system may be, for example, a personal computer or workstation associated with a user.
A typical server system may provide numerous services to a client system. These services might be available, for example, in the form of software modules. The server software is supported by operating system software that provides the server software with access to resources such as the server's computer hardware resources and the server's user interface resources.
It is desirable to monitor the performance of server systems on a network to ensure the network is operating properly. Typically, the operating status of an individual service of a server system may be determined by sending a computer-generated query to the server system. In response to the query, the server system sends a reply that includes the operating status of the service. The reply indicates, among other things, whether the service is running. The queries and replies typically include at least one query and one reply per service. Thus, to determine the status of multiple services at a single server, the querying computer sends multiple queries and receives multiple replies.
The issuance of each query takes time. Thus, it is desirable to reduce the number of queries generated to monitor the performance of the services provided by a server system.